Real wages rose 10% yoy in March

Real wages in Ukraine rose 9.5% yoy in March,
accelerating from 7.6% yoy growth in February, the State Statistics Service
reported April 28. The average monthly nominal wage amounted to UAH 13,612 (USD
490), increasing from UAH 12,549 in February, or 6.7% m/m in real terms.

The leaders for average monthly wages were the City of
Kyiv (UAH 20,132), Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk (UAH 15,907) and Zaporizhzhya
(UAH 13,721) regions. The largest average nominal wage increase was in
healthcare and social services (52.0% yoy), arts, sports and recreation (33.8%
yoy) and education (28.8% yoy).

Within the industrial sector, the highest growth of
nominal wages was in metallurgy (22.1% yoy) pharmaceuticals (20.0% yoy), and
mining (18.3% yoy).

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The growth
of real wages accelerated significantly in March even despite increasing inflation. Apparently,
the improvement in industrial production
prompted the wage growth.

We expect real wages will rise 8-9% yoy in 2021.
The growth of wages will be boosted by economic revival and rising demand for
labor.